Parkinson Disease - Current versus futuristic Treatment.

December 1, 2003

Ido Ben-Ze'ev

Parkinson Disease – Current versus futuristic Treatment

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a cureless disease and one of the most severe diseases among the group of motor system disorders which its cause is idiopathic. The disease was first examined and described by the British Doctor called James Parkinson in the early ninetieth centaury. It is a progressive disorder of the Central Nervous System which caused by the degeneration of dopamine producing brain cells. Dopamine is a chemical messenger that controls movement, emotional response, and the ability to experience pleasure and pain. The neurons containing the dopamine are assembled in the midbrain in an area called the substantia nigra. PD occurs when certain nerve cells that normally produce the neurotransmitter dopamine die or become damaged and as a result, no dopamine is existed in the patient's brain and the muscles' control is disrupted. The four primary symptoms of Parkinson are tremor or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and postural instability or impaired balance and coordination. PD severely harms the quality of life: Patients with PD can find it difficult to perform movements such as reading, writing or driving. With advanced disease, they have difficulties performing basic activities of daily lives.

The image bellow illustrates the normal motor control connections that are involved in Parkinson's disease. Dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra project to the striatum (caudate plus putamen). Striatal neurons project to the globus pallidus, and predominantly GABAergic pallidal neurons send inhibitory projections to the cerebral cortex, which in turn relays stimulatory glutamatergic projections back to the striatum and down through the corticospinal tract.

PD current treatment:

Since PD causes a degeneration of dopamine producing brain cells, most PD's drugs invented so far are belonged to the dopamine agonists' category, these are drugs that stimulate the parts of the human brain that receive . These drugs help satisfy the brain's need for dopamine. The dopamine agonists have been helping patients for many years but from the other hand they have lots of disadvantages. One of the major problems with these drugs is that after approximately five years, although they still continue to work, they cause side effects, and the side ...